Pleated garment pattern and method

ABSTRACT

A pattern for forming a pleated garment is disclosed as including a plurality of folds such that a top zipper portion includes a reverse fold and a bottom, under-zipper portion includes a forward fold at the respective edge areas. The pattern thereby produces a garment with a continuous pleating pattern and one pleat for overlying the zipper of the garment, thereby hiding it from view. A method for forming and assembling two garment members with a zipper is also disclosed, the method including the steps of prefolding and precutting the pattern for the garment such that a reverse fold is formed in the zipper portion thereof and the zipper teeth are automatically aligned with a crease on the under-zipper portion of the garment. In this way, a semiautomatic zipper aligning and assembly procedure is accomplished for a pleated garment.

llnitewi States Patent Erischer l 1 Oct. 9, 1973 PLEATED GARMENT PATTERN AND Primary ExaminerAlfred R. Guest METHOD Att0rney--Amster & Rothstein [76] Inventor: Leonard Erischer, 4 Jeffrey Way,

White Plains, NY. [57] ABSTRACT A pattern for forming a pleated garment is disclosed [22] Flled' June 1971 as including a plurality of folds such that a top zipper [21] Appl. No.: 149,636 portion includes a reverse fold and a bottom, underzipper portion includes a forward fold at the respec- 52 us. Cl. 2/243 B, 33/11, 2/234 g pattemfhereby Produces a 51] Int. Cl. A4ld a l Pleamg patter and P 581 Field of Search 2/243 B 243 R, 218, werlymg the Upper garment hereby hdmg 2/234 265 g 33/11 12 it from view. A method for forming and assembling two garment members with a zipper is also disclosed,

the method including the steps of prefolding and pre- [56] References cued cutting the pattern for the garment such that a reverse UNITED STATES PATENTS fold is formed in the zipper portion thereof and the Lichten et a]... ipper teeth are automatically aligned a crease on 2,002,306 g 2/243 R X the under-zipper portion of the garment. In this way, a resson semi-automatic zipper aligning and assembly procedure is accomplished for a pleated garment.

5 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTED UB7 9 I973 SHEET 2 [If 3 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS PATENTEDDBI 9 '91s SHEEI 3 0F 3 INVENTOR.

ZEOA/4/PD FQ/S C H ER ATTORNEYS PLEATEI) GARMENT PATTERN AND METHOD This invention relates primarily to pleated garments and more particularly to plackets in pleated garments and their closure.

Usually, a pleated garment is formed by use of semiflexible pleating pattern. Where a zipper is desired for the garment, first and second pleated garment members are formed with a regular pleating pattern such that the assembly operation requires slitting of one garment member at about the center of its zipper edge just prior to the sewing operation, and the zipper edge portion, as distinguished from the under-zipper edge portion, is folded rearwardly and manually against the grain of the crease formed by the pattern. The person sewing the garment then attempts to align his fold line such that the preformed crease in the under-zipper portion is in line with the teeth of the zipper. Such manual alignment procedures have produced misalignment of the zipper and a visual break in the pleating pattern of the finished garment. Furthermore, such manual alignment procedures have proven to be costly because of the time involved in manually and visually aligning the zipper with the pleating pattern prior to sewing.

Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a semi-automatic method for forming and assembling garment members with each other and with a zipper in a pleated garment in an efficient manner.

A further and more particular object is to provide a pattern useful in forming a pleated garment such that semi-automatic forming and assembling procedures are enabled.

These and other objects are accomplised in accordance with one illustrative embodiment of the present invention which features a pattern for forming prefolded pleated garments with provisions for zipper attachment thereto including a folded, semi-flexible body having a zipper pattern area and an under-zipper pattern area. The zipper pattern area includes a first fold at which the body is folded rearwardly, or in a reverse direction, to expose an external pre-formed crease facing in an outward direction. A second fold is formed in the zipper pattern area, at which the body is folded in a regular way, or forwardly, to expose an internal or hidden crease facing in the outward direction so that the body of the pattern passes beneath the first fold. A third fold is formed in the under-zipper pattern area at which the body is folded rearwardly to expose an external crease facing in an inward direction. A fourth fold is formed in the under-zipper pattern area at which the body is folded forwardly to expose an internal, hidden crease facing in the inward direction, so that the body of the pattern passes beneath the third fold. The body of the pattern defines an opening extending laterally between the zipper and under-zipper areas such that it extends in the transverse direction inwardly beyond the third fold and in the outward transverse direction beyond the second fold. In this way, the garment formed by the pattern is prefolded in a reverse direction in the zipper portion so that zipper edge of one garment member includes the reverse fold slightly inwardly of the edge fold formed by the under-zipper portion of the same member. Thus, when the zipper is attached to the one member, its teeth are aligned with a fourth fold of the under-zipper portion of the one garment member.

Stitching and otherwise assembling the garment members and the zipper thereby becomes a semiautomatic procedure which does not require folding the zipper portion against the grain of the fold formed by the pattern. The opening defined by the body between the zipper and under-zipper areas in the pattern facilitates the reverse folding as hereinabove briefly described.

The above brief description as well as further objects, features and advantages of the present invention would be more fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred, but nonetheless illustrative embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partial view of an unfolded pattern constructed according to the present invention, particularly showing the zipper and the under-zipper areas thereof, with lines of folds being shown in ghost lines;

FIG. 2 is a partial view of the pattern of FIG. 1 after pleating folds have been formed therein;

FIG. 3 is a partial view ofa first garment member useful with the pattern of FIGS. 1 and 2 and with proposed fold lines being shown by ghost lines thereon;

FIG. 4 is a partial view of the garment member of FIG. 3 after folding by use of the pleating pattern of FIG. 2, and with a zipper being shown therewith to illustrate the proposed attachment therebetween according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4 and showing particularly the folds formed in the garment member, in the zipper portion thereof;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the garment member of FIG. 4, the section being taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 4, showing particularly the folds formed in the under-zipper portion thereof:

FIG. 7 is a partial view of the garment member of FIG. 4 with the zipper aligned therewith prior to attachment;

FIG. 8 is a partial view of the garment member of FIG. 7 showing the sewing pattern for attachment of the zipper to both the garment member of FIG. 4 and a second garment member and with the second garment member being shown folded over onto the front of the first garment member for sewing convenience:

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 8 showing particularly the attachment of said zipper to the first garment member and to the second garment member and with the second garment member being shown in ghost lines and folded in a final pleating pattern to cover the zipper;

FIG. 10 is a front view of a portion of the garment formed by an alternative embodiment of an assembly and pleating method according to the present invention, and,

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the garment of FIG. 10 taken along the line Illl of FIG. 10 and showing particularly the minimum overlay of the second garment member onto the first garment member, as well as the attachment of said first and second garment members to the zipper.

Referring to the drawings and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2, a garment pattern is illustrated for forming pleated garments. The garment pattern, generally labelled 10, includes a zipper pattern area 12 and an under-zipper pattern area 14. The pattern 10 defines, between said areas, an opening 16 which delineates the extent of both the zipper pattern area and the underzipper pattern area. The pattern 10 is formed from a semi-rigid material such as cardboard or the like and is intended for use in many cases with a similar second pattern member which would overly the material to be formed from the pattern, so that the material is sandwiched between the pattern members. For simplicity of description, only one pattern member will be described herein.

Ghost lines 18, 20, 24, 22 are shown in FIG. 1 to represent the positioning of first, second, third and fourth pattern fold lines 18, 20', 24', 22', respectively, with reference to FIG. 2. For instance, in the zipper area 12, the pattern 10 is folded such that fold line 20' represents an external crease facing in a first direction on the pattern. The pattern is then folded along fold line 18 such that the pattern material passes beneath the first fold line 20'. In the nomenclature of this patent application, fold line 20' will be described as an external crease whereas fold line 18 will be described an an internal or hidden crease. This reverse direction of folding from the normal pleating pattern in the zipper pattern area is enabled by opening 16 defined between the zipper pattern area and the under-zipper pattern area. In the under-zipper pattern area 14, representing the entire lower area of the pattern material shown in FIG. 2, the fold pattern is opposite to that for the zipper pattern area and yet in the direction of the regular pleating pattern of the pattern material. That is, fold line 22' represents an external crease facing in a second direction after which the pattern material is folded along fold line 24' to expose an internal crease in the second direction.

It should be noticed from FIGS. 1 and 2, that the first and fourth fold lines 20', 24', are not in exact alignment and that a similar displacement is present between the second and third fold lines 18', 22. The slight difference in alignment is to compensate for a zipper allowance to be included in the garment material to be formed from the pattern 10.

FIGS. 3 through 11 illustrate examples of the steps involved in forming and assembling a pleated garment with a zipper 26 by use of the pattern shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 3 shows the garment prior to pleating and assembly and particularly shows a first garment member 28 useful in the practice of the method of the present invention.

The proposed fold lines 32 are illustrated in FIG. 3 and garment member 28 is shown to further include a slit or cut transversely arranged proximate the zipper edge 35 of the garment member 28. The garment member FIG. 3 is placed between two similarly folded patterns 10 such that the fold lines, 36, 38, 40, 42 are formed in the garment member 28 as shown in FIG. 4. The particular method used for forming the creases or fold lines are well known in the art but briefly may be described as follows:

The garment member is placed and tucked into the various fold lines 18', 20', 22', 24' of the pattern such that the garment member 28 reproduces the pleating pattern of the pattern itself. The garment member 28 and two patterns 10 are then rolled into a cylindrical form and placed in an autoclave or oven for anywhere from to 20 minutes depending upon the material used for the garment member 28. The temperature is set at a point between the range of 212 and 260 such that capillary action of the steam takes place to penetrate between the paper or cardboard patterns and into the material. Thus, the pleating pattern is set on the garment member 28 and the garment member 28 is then ready for assembly with other garment members and the zipper 26, if it is desired to use a zipper in the finished garment.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a pleating pattern that may be formed by use of the present method and patterns 10. The capillary action of the steaming as just described produces a prefold along the fold line 36 in a rearward direction such that the zipper edge 35 is folded rearwardly relative to the front of garment member 28. Thus, the zipper edge 35 lies under the garment member 28 in the orientation of FIG. 4. The underzipper edge 37 is formed such that an internal crease facing inwardly relative to garment member 28 is formed on fold line 38. The balance of the pleating pattern on garment member 28 inward of the zipper and under-zipper edges 35, 37 thereof are made as shown by fold lines 40, 42 whereby 40 represents the fold line for an external crease facing in an inward direction and 42 represents the fold line for an internal crease facing in an inward direction relative to the garment member 28.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, which are sectional views taken along the zipper and under-zipper portions, respectively, of garment member 28, FIG. 5 illustrates particularly the reverse prefolding near zipper edge 35 and shows an external crease along fold line 36 facing in an outward direction relative to garment member 28. Furthermore, the regular pleating pattern along fold lines 40, 42 is illustrated along with a duplicate pleating pattern 43 further inward of the garment member 28. On the other hand, the illustration of FIG. 6 shows the pleating pattern near under-zipper edge 37 as regular relative to the creases along fold lines 40, 42 and the continuation of the regular pleating pattern 43. Thus, the differences between the near-edge fold lines on both the zipper portion 27 and under-zipper portion 29 may be easily seen by reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 7 illustrates the stitching of zipper 26 to the first garment member 28, such that the zipper teeth 46 are aligned with fold line 38 without the crease along fold line 36 extending outwardly to the extent where it would cover teeth 46 to impair the operation of zipper 26. The stitching of the first garment member 28 to zipper 16 takes place along stitch lines 48 as one observes the garment from its front.

FIG. 8 represents the next step in the method whereby a second garment 30 is folded frontwardly (temporarily for the sewing operation) and joined to both the zipper 26 and the first garment member 28. The fold line 50 on the second garment member 30 is matched to fold line 38 of the first garment member and stitching takes place along stitch lines 52 as shown in FIG. 8. By such matching of fold lines 50 and 38, the garment is put together with an external crease along garment fold line 59 on the second garment member covering the zipper in the front of the garment without any chance of alignment mistakes on the part of the assembly operator or sewing machine operator for the garment. Particularly in FIGS. 8 and 9, it is evident that fold line 50 is slightly outwardly as was fold line 38, of the fold line 36 of the garment member 28. Automically, therefore, the staple 53 for zipper 26 and the teeth 46 thereof are centered relative to fold lines 50 and 38, of the second garment member 30 and of the under-zipper portion of the first garment member 28, respectively.

Referring now to FIGS. and 11, an alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown as including a second garment piece which just barely overlies zipper 26 to hide the zipper from view. The forming of first garment piece 28 with fold lines 36', 42' (as well as fold line 38", not shown in FIG. 11) is exactly the same as previously described, except for the inward advancement of fold line 36 relative to fold line 38 and a concommitant foreshortening of the pleat face. Furthermore, the stitching procedure is somewhat different from that of the preferred embodiment in that the stitch line in the under-zipper portion is slightly outwardly of fold lines 38 and 50. Also, such stitching terminates just under the zipper staple, after which the zipper is stitched to the second garment member by stitching through the front of the garment slightly outwardly of the zipper fold 57. However, by using fold line 36 as a guide and barely overlapping fold 57 of second garment piece 30' over that fold line 36, the assembly technique in the alternative embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 is likewise automatic. In other words, in either embodiment, very little discretion is left to the assembly operator, which leads to uniformity in the final product and a higher quality final product. In the embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 the semi-automatic assembly features of the present invention are even more important since alignment of the under-zipper fold lines 38, is no longer possible and the reverse fold line 36 becomes the only guide.

In order to provide a more complete description of the invention herein, the following summary description of the method of assembly is provided:

Firstly, by use of the pattern shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a material garment member, such as that shown in FIG. 3, is formed with the pleating design as shown in FIG. 4. In other words, the zipper edge 35 of garment member 28 is folded rearwardly along a first fold line 36. At the same time, a forward regular pleat is formed along fold line 38 such that the under-zipper edge 37 is arranged forwardly of the garment member 28. The fold line 38 is slight outwardly of the fold line 36 in order to provide a zipper allowance. Such opposite folding along fold lines 36 and 38 is enabled primarily by the use of slit 34, indicating the delineation of zipper and under-zipper portions of the garment member 28. The balance of the pleating pattern fo garment member 28 regularly follows the pleating pattern established by the under-zipper fold line 38.

At the same or another time, a second garment member 30 is formed with a pleating pattern that is regular relative to the pleating pattern established by fold line 38 in the under-zipper portion and the other pleats formed in the balance of the first garment member 28, excepting, of course, the .fold line 36 in the zipper portion of garment member 28. Thus, the second garment member 30 has a near-edge fold line 50 that is rearward in orientation relative to the crease formed thereon.

.The zipper is then basted to the first garment member 28 approximately l/8th inch from zipper teeth 46. As is usual in the garment industry, the tab of the zipper is arranged to be near the top of the finished skirt. As shown in FIG. 7, the stitching 48 is then provided along the basting line and transversely along the slit line 34. The hidden creases 50, 38 of the second and first garment members, respectively, are then matched and aligned with zipper teeth 46, and stitching 52 is provided, by beginning at the bottom of the skirt (the bottom of the under-zipper portion of the first garment member 28), so that the stitching runs up along fold lines 38, 50. When the stitching gets to within approximately 1 inch of the zipper staple, the stitching 52 veers slightly towards the first garment member until the stitching reaches approximately 1/4 inch above the staple. The stitching then is provided downwardly to a point just below and to the first garment member side of the staple and then transversely towards the second garment member. At a point approximatley l/4 inch beyond the zipper teeth 46, the stitching is provided straight upwardly along zipper 26 until the tip of the garment is reached.

By use of the above method, a desired cover for the .zipper is provided in the final product by semiautomatic means.

Alternatively, the garment could be provided by barely overlapping the zipper with the last external crease of the second garment member by using the fold line 36' as a guide. Also, it is clearly seen from the above description that a box pleating pattern can be provided for the garment by merely changing the pattern of FIGS. 1 and 2 to thereby produce a garment with box pleating starting with the first pleats on either side of the pleats proximate the zipper.

Furthermore, in the embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 1], the actual garment would include a slight veering to the left of pleat and a corresponding veering to the right of zipper 26 to allow for the shape of a woman's body in a skirt, as an example, in order to make the pleating pattern uniform.

Accordingly, a pattern and method are provided according to the above description such that a higher quality product is produced semi-automatically in less time with less efficiency than by means of those patterns and methods of the prior art.

What is claimed is:

l. A garment pleating pattern for forming pre-folded, pleated garments with provision for zipper attachment thereto comprising a folded, semi-flexible body including a zipper pattern area and an under-zipper pattern area, a first fold line in said zipper pattern area at which said body is folded rearwardly to expose an external crease facing in a first direction, a second fold line in said zipper pattern area at which said body is folded forwardly to expose an internal crease facing in said first direction so that said body passes beneath said first fold, a third fold line in said under-zipper pattern area at which said body is folded rearwardly to expose an external crease facing in a second direction, a fourth fold line in said under-zipper pattern area at which said body is folded forwardly to expose an internal crease facing in said second direction so that said body passes beneath said third fold and said body defining an open ing extending in said first and second directions, between said areas and beyond said fourth and third folds.

2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said first fold line is slightly, laterally displaced in said second direction relative to said fourth fold line.

3. A pleated garment forming and assembly method for forming and assembling a first garment member, second garment member and a zipper comprising the steps of:

a. pre-folding in a rearward direction the near-zipper edge of the zipper portion of said first garment member along a first fold line;

pre-folding in a forward direction the zipper portion of said first garment member along a second fold line;

pre-folding in a rearward direction the underzipper portion of said first garment member along a third fold line;

b. pre-folding in a forward direction the near-underzipper edge of the under-zipper portion of said first garment member along a fourth fold line slightly outwardly of said first fold line;

0. pre-folding in a rearward direction the edge of said second garment member along a fifth fold line;

d. pre-folding in a rearward direction said second garment along a sixth fold line;

e. stitching said zipper such that the zipper teeth are arranged just outwardly of said first fold line;

f. joining said first and second members by stitching after aligning said fourth fold line with said fifth fold line; and

g. stitching said zipper to said first and second members such that said sixth fold line of said second garment member is arranged inwardly of said zipper to cover said zipper teeth.

4. The invention according to claim 3 wherein a first step is provided to place said garment members between pleating patterns.

5. The invention according to claim 4 wherein after said placing of said garment members between said pleating patterns, said patterns and members are heated to set said pre-folds.

* I t i 

1. A garment pleating pattern for forming pre-folded, pleated garments with provision for zipper attachment thereto comprising a folded, semi-flexible body including a zipper pattern area and an under-zipper pattern area, a first fold line in said zipper pattern area at which said body is folded rearwardly to expose an external crease facing in a first direction, a second fold line in said zipper pattern area at which said body is folded forwardly to expose an internal crease facing in said first direction so that said body passes beneath said first fold, a third fold line in said under-zipper pattern area at which said body is folded rearwardly to expose an external crease facing in a second direction, a fourth fold line in said under-zipper pattern area at which said body is folded forwardly to expose an internal crease facing in said second direction so that said body passes beneath said third fold and said body defining an opening extending in said first and second directions, between said areas and beyond said fourth and third folds.
 2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said first fold line is slightly, laterally displaced in said second direction relative to said fourth fold line.
 3. A pleated garment forming and assembly method for forming and assembling a first garment member, second garment member and a zipper comprising the steps of: a. pre-folding in a rearward direction the near-zipper edge of the zipper portion of said first garment member along a first fold line; pre-folding in a forward direction the zipper portion of said first garment member along a second fold line; pre-folding in a rearward direction the under-zipper portion of said first garment member along a third fold line; b. pre-folding in a forward direction the near-under-zipper edge of the under-zipper portion of said first garment member along a fourth fold line slightly outwardly of said first fold line; c. pre-folding in a rearward direction the edge of said second garment member along a fifth fold line; d. pre-folding in a rearward direction said second garment along a sixth fold line; e. stitching said zipper such that the zipper teeth are arranged just outwardly of said first fold line; f. joining said first and second members by stitching after aligning said fourth fold line with said fifth fold line; and g. stitching said zipper to said first and second members such that said sixth fold line of said second garment member is arranged inwardly of said zipper to cover said zipper teeth.
 4. The invention according to claim 3 wherein a first step is provided to place said garment members between pleating patterns.
 5. The invention according to claim 4 wherein after said placing of said garment members between said pleating patterns, said patterns and members are heated to set said pre-folds. 